Paul (Ky.) — who won his race with strong support from the Tea Party movement — said that he will "pressure" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to take simple majority votes on spending cut amendments in the next Congress.
"I think that every piece of major legislation that goes forward from now on needs to have attached to it spending cuts," Paul said during a podcast with conservative blogger Ben Domenech. If Congress is serious about the nation's ballooning debt and deficits, "We have to be serious and introduce spending cuts.
"That's one thing that I will do when I am there, is introduce it at every opportunity and we will have votes on it," he said. Many political observers have taken a keen interest in Paul to see if his priorities next year will clash with those of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who also happens to be Kentucky's other senator.
Don't believe that last part for a second. When it comes to McConnell's wishes during the 2010 campaign, Rand Paul fell in line like a good GOP footsoldier, and now that he's in the Senate that will continue. Don't watch his mouth, watch his votes.
He talks a good game, but he's just another Republican.
Actually, he is going to introduce $500 billion of SPECIFIC cuts in January. I'm assuming he'll draw from that list. I don't know how much support he'll get.
ReplyDeleteLook, if you want to get stuff done in the next two years, you may want to compartmentalize specific issues and look for issue specific coalitions. Your new Senator will be on sides you like in a number of those areas, I predict.